The boys of El Segundo

MONDAY, AUGUST 28TH

HEADLINES

Happy Monday, LA!

Garrett’s Mom is the mastermind behind CuratedLA, but we’re never really quite sure what she’s up to. But we do know that this recent Thursday-Sunday design sprint she firmly suggested propelled us into another growth stage for us at CuratedLA.

This is fantastic news for us, our audience, and our Curators.

Stay tuned for more exciting updates, and in the meantime, let’s raise a glass to new designs and the good Monday vibes below 🥂 

EL SEGUNDO ⚾️ WECLOME HOME, WORLD CHAMPIONS: California's Little League dream came true with a bat flip and a trot as Louis Lappe's walk-off homer clinched a 6-5 victory over Curacao in the World Series championship. The heart-stopping game saw California give up a lead, but Lappe's second pitch blast sealed the deal, making him the homer king of the tournament. Curacao's Nasir El-Ossais brought thunder with a grand slam to tie it, but California's Jaxon Kalish and Lucas Keldorf hit back. Tears and cheers flowed as El Segundo celebrated their first final win. A home run spectacle and history-making emotions at the little diamond in South Williamsport. Mom + Dad, your boys are going to Disney…oh, wait #SAGAFTRASTRIKE. 🔗 ESPN

UNION STATION 🚈 NEW CONCEPT VIDEO: The California High-Speed Rail Authority released an animated video, providing visual updates of what our high-speed rail system will look like upon completion. And yes. It is pretty cool. And yes. I did make my own adjustments to include dolphins
 🐬 CuratedLA on YouTube

Our newsletter today comes from Wyatt’s Mind.

LOCAL EATS

BLACK RESTAURANT WEEK 🥪 NOW - SEPTEMBER 3RD:

Our eats section this week is devoted to new happenings, cuisines and good Black Culture food that can be found at Black Restaurant Week, going on until this Sunday, September 3rd. During this time, Black restaurant owners will be offering discounts, specials, and previews of what their teams have been serving up.

I’ll be at a couple of Burbank eateries this Wednesday, grubbing on some southern food that reminds me of my old birth town back in South Carolina.

For today’s treat, the scoop of participating restaurants in Long Beach:

• Axiom Kitchen 🍽️  “One can pick up Axiom Kitchen’s aroma from a distance. Upon closer inspection, Qiana and Ian Mafnas’ barbecue pop-up includes smoked beef ribs, brisket, and strips of tri-tip get slathered in herbed clarified butter before being dropped on a flat top for a finishing sear. Axiom pops-up Fridays and Saturdays in Long Beach.” - Eater, Los Angeles 🔗 Eater: LA

• Devi’s Donuts and Sweets 🍩 This sweet eatery has a 4.9 rating from Restaurant Guru, because from the looks of it, it’s probably hard to complain about all the sweetness. The shack has tasty cream donuts, crème brûlée and cinnamon rolls. Visitors say to try the delicious piña colada and that the espresso is really great 🔗 Restaurant Guru

• Extraordinary Banana Pudding 🍮 Owner Toran Gary and his family have always had a sweet tooth for banana pudding; their family even has a generational recipe for this delicious treat. While working full-time, Gary decided to put his family’s recipe to the test and open up a pudding shop. A year and-a-half later, Extraordinary Banana Pudding has over half a million dollars in sales 🔗 Long Beach Post

• Fluffy’s Sno-Balls ⛄️ Within two weeks of moving back into his grandmother’s Louisiana home, disaster hit: Hurricane Katrina. But Kevyn Lee didn’t settle or stop short of his dream in that of owning a business. Now, fifteen years later, Lee runs Fluffy’s Sno-Balls and brings his southern charm to those customers he serves 🔗 Long Beach Post

• Wut-A-Pickle 🥒 Aptly named for the amazing flavors and choices of pickles, the flavors will fill the void of original dill pickles. Wut-A-Pickle is an alternative to fast food snacks and offers a much more satisfying and healthy gourmet pickle experience. Their pickles are a reminiscent of good times gone by but not entirely gone away 🔗 Wut-A-Pickle

UPCOMING

HOLLYWOOD 🎤 LONG TIME NO SEE ^7:15PM  💰️ $28 | ft: Sarah Silverman, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes,Trevor Wallace, Fortune Feimster, Rory Albanese, Saul Trujillo, Charles Greaves and more TBA!📍Hollywood Improv 🎟️ Tickets

HOLLYWOOD 🎸 MY MORNING JACKET ^7:30PM  💰️ $15+ | with Fleet Foxes, rescheduled from prior date. My Morning Jacket is an American rock band that was formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. Their sound is rooted in rock and country, but is often experimental and psychedelic📍Hollywood Bowl
🔗 More information

HOLLYWOOD 🤘 SIGUR RÓS ^8:00PM  💰️ $40+ | Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band that was formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. They have released eight studio albums and has attracted critical and commercial attention with their second album Ágætis byrjun📍Greek Theatre
🔗 More information

EL SEGUNDO 🎞️ PRETTY WOMAN ^8:00PM  💰️ $19.50+ | Enjoy the ultimate open-air cinema experience tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the city with mountain views, starry skies and ocean breezes. Please note, doors open 60 minutes before the screening. Guests are seated on a first-come, first-served basis 📍 Rooftop Cinema El Segundo 🎟️ Tickets

THIS WEEK 🔜 

HOLLYWOOD 🎛️ EDA RHYNE TASTING ^{TOMORROW, 9PM}  💰️ Free | Eda Rhyne is a contemporary distillery founded on heritage and innovation. We use folk knowledge, rare heirloom grains, and native botanicals to capture distinct regional flavors for all to enjoy📍Gold-Diggers
🔗 More information

FUTURE 🔮 

SANTA BARBARA 🪕 THE LUMINEERS ^{SEPT. 12TH 6:45PM} 💰️ $49.50 + | With musical guest James Bay📍Santa Barbara Bowl 🎟️ Tickets

GUIDES 🔎 

😎 Ten Free Ways To End Summer, Free
🔗 Daily Bulletin

*We are now making design changes to our calendar. Thank you for your patience as we provide all with the best options of events within LA.

TIKTOK FOR BUSINESS

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COMMUNITY

THE MUSIC CENTER 🎺 FALL SEASON ANNOUNCED: The Music Center and its various divisions and partners are gearing up for an exciting fall season. They are planning to offer a diverse range of arts and entertainment experiences to both residents and visitors of Santa Monica. See the full announcement, with the complete lineup and a list of brand collaborators for the fun waiting to be had, right around the corner 🔗 Broadway World

DANNY TREJO 💪 55 YEARS SOBER:  Danny Treo has been in close to five hundred movies, but he is celebrating a milestone of a success that trumps his IMDB credits: fifty-five years of sobriety. Trejo has made it known that he is friends with Bill and Bob. And if you are familiar with the reference like we are, then stop by a room in LA. You might just run into him 🔗 KTLA

SANTA MONICA 🎭️ NEW ARTS COMMISSIONER: Santa Monica's artistic legacy finds a fresh advocate in Michelle Edgar, the new Arts Commissioner. From coast to coast, she's left her mark as a pianist, non-profit founder, and talent agent. Edgar's vision intertwines her philanthropic roots and entertainment prowess. Her arrival coincides with pivotal moments for the city, preparing for global events. She's already ignited the Pier with Salsa dance nights, fostering community connections. What’s Edgar’s aim? To unite diverse talents and companies, creating an organic celebration of Santa Monica's art, culture, and people: a symphony of unity. 🔗 Santa Monica Daily Press

BUSINESS

ROBOTAXIS 🚕 ARE HITTING THE LA STREETS: Amid substantial growth in autonomous driving, Cruise, a subsidiary of GM, is extending its self-driving taxi operations to LA. The company, along with Waymo, have been increasing both of their respective company rides. Both entities are continuing to test here in LA before expanding to self-driving and ride-hailing regionally. Cue backseat driver jokes 🔗 SLATE

STARBUCKS ☕️ PSL IS BACK: There is no need for a blurb. Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte is back. And so is college football. I love life. Right now.

TESLA 🏎️ WEST HOLLYWOOD: Tesla's Hollywood dreams are revving up as the Tesla Diner project gets closer to construction. This Drive-in Movie Theater, with thirty-two Superchargers, movie screens, and a restaurant, has been cooking up excitement. Recent permit updates from LA City are giving this electrifying project the green light, now in West Hollywood as it was originally planned for Santa Monica. While we await the reveal of its final design, Tesla's mix of food, entertainment, and supercharging is poised to add more flavor to the EV experience. I’ve put in an inquiry to Team Tesla…and keeping fingers crossed that I get a response for us at CuratedLA before the Cybertruck comes out… 🔗 Teslarati

HIRING 🚀 

XOMETRY 🖨️ DIRECTOR, STRATEGIC CONTENT: Xometry does 3D-printing. The company also offers a variety of manufacturing services with a modernization twist: offering those services on-demand. They are currently looking for a content guru for a local gig 💼 Learn more

WHATNOT 🖥️ SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER, TRUST & SAFETY: Whatnot is a live stream shopping platform and marketplace backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Y Combinator, and CapitalG. Their primary product is their live stream platform with a marketplace that allows for collectors and users alike to collect, connect, buy, sell and trade 💼 Learn more

CULTURE

RETRO LA 🃏 THE CITY’S CARD GAME HISTORY: Our city’s history of playing card games dates back to the late nineteenth century. Many saloons and social clubs played a crucial role in community bonding with both Poker and Bridge being at the centerpiece. Our Spanish settlers paved way to influencing today’s play of games such as Mus and Brisca. The heritage of these card games rooted in LA heritage as being able to showcase a certain skillset allowed for certain members within our community to hold a card of validation and respect 🔗 Hews Media Group

COMMUNITY PLAYLIST 🎵 THE VIBES ARE ON SPOTIFY: Garrett, Garrett’s Mom and I were all doing the LA Hustle and Shuffle while design sprinting this weekend. And we want you to join in on the fun by sharing the type of vibes that you are listening to on Spotify. If you’re a Curator, you can add to this public Spotify playlist by clicking the Add vibes button below.

Note: this button is only visible to those that are Curators, which can be you by subscribing, completely free 🔗 Subscribe to CuratedLA

SPORTS

USC 🏈 A GOLDEN BRANCH: Los Angeles Coliseum held a celestial surprise Saturday night: a shooting star named Zachariah Branch. Almost instantly, Branch dazzled with a 96-yard kickoff return TD, four receptions, a score, and three punt returns. Branch totaled 232 all-purpose yards in the Trojan’s victory over San José State, 56-28. Branch was the first true freshman since Adoree Jackson to return a kickoff for a touchdown, having many amongst the sports realms sparking similarities 🔗 Saturday Out West 

DODGERS 🧢 VICTORY OVER RED SOCKS: Mookie Betts' return to Fenway Park as a Dodger sizzled with nostalgia. The 2018 AL MVP, now a favorite for the NL award, ignited his team with a two-run homer, securing a 7-4 win over the Red Sox. With standing ovations and seven hits in three games, Betts showed grace in facing his former team. Freddie Freeman's stellar performance complemented Betts'. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts hailed Betts as a superstar who delivered despite emotional exhaustion. An electrifying series where history met the present. 🔗 ESPN

MONDAY. WEDNESDAY. FRIDAY.

We will see everyone on Wednesday. Until we finish a new UI/UX for Surfboard the public calendar, and the addition of jobs for the CuratedLA Collective, we will run on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.

Garrett’s Mom has been feeding us well, and it’s motivating so we should be back on a full-time schedule in a Taylor Swift of a time. But damn ya’ll…we are going to miss you on Tuesdays and Thursdays until we get CuratedLA into tip-top-toppity.